'Reverse Graffiti' Stakes a Space in SoHo

June 6, 2013 3:43 p.m. ET

fullscreen

Art collective Greene Street NYC is renting wall space from a SoHo co-op to display a work of art. Here Simon Guindi Cohen, left, and Joseph Kretzers help hold down a stencil as Chris Choi cleans old paint as part of a reverse graffiti work on the West Houston Street wall.
Cassandra Giraldo for The Wall Street Journal…

The 23-unit building's board will use the $5,000 for the two-month wall rental for upkeep and upgrades. 'Reverse graffiti' is created by peeling away some of the wall paint or grime to create designs by exposing part of the lower layer.
Cassandra Giraldo for The Wall Street Journal…

Chris Choi, part of the three-member art collective that proposed the idea, helps his co-founders on placement of a stencil. To create the work, the group power-washed black paint off the side of the co-op. Under the paint was a mural done in 2001 by a former resident of the building.
Cassandra Giraldo for The Wall Street Journal…

Sion Guind Cohen wrings his swim trunks after being soaked by the power washer. Mr. Choi had painted over the mural precisely so he could then artfully remove parts of the new layer. Mr. Choi is a fashion-design graduate from Parsons the New School for Design.
Cassandra Giraldo for The Wall Street Journal…

The process, which is the opposite of stenciling, has been around since about 2006 as a kind of guerrilla cleaning effort.. Co-founders Chris Choi, right, Simon Guindi Cohen, left, Veronica Menendez are pictured at the wall. Mr. Guindi Cohen is a clothing designer behind the brand Spenglish.
Cassandra Giraldo for The Wall Street Journal…

The team works on the art space. 'They packaged it as a new art form, which right away sounded really innovative artistically and conceptually,' said Ari Grazi, a 26-year-old board member who served as the primary middleman between the residents and the collective.
Cassandra Giraldo for The Wall Street Journal…